ChangingCottonLandscapeNeilForrester

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for transgenic seed production otherwise you can end up with mixed and/or segregating seed which gives rise to a number of problems, such as: 1) Bt resistance risk – bollworm larvae can crawl between Bt and non-Bt plants to recover from Bt poisoning; and 2) yield loss from the non- Bt plants in the field which are unprotected from bollworm attack. In fact, research from the US has shown that for every 1% loss in Bt purity, the farmer loses 0.5 - 0.9% yield, depending on the pest pressure 3 . For example, if Bt purity is only at 90%, then growers would suffer a 5% yield loss under low bollworm pressure, up to 9% under high bollworm pressure. These potential yield losses are significant enough in their own right, let alone the risk to the future efficacy of Bt cotton. There are other consequences of the lack of a professional seed industry, such as the following: 1) Growers held to ransom by the uncontrolled seed mafia 2) Unauthorised introduction of Bt cotton 3) New varieties are sometimes released prematurely just to exploit the novelty marketing factor without adding significantly to the range of grower choice The smooth leaf variety in the centre of this jassid screening trial indicates the potential severity of jassid damage 4) The foreign germplasm introduced as the unauthorized Bt donor is not necessarily adapted to the local environmental or pest and disease conditions. For example, most potential Bt donor varieties from the US, China and Australia are smooth leaf and therefore susceptible to jassid attack. They are also usually very susceptible to CLCV and not generally heat tolerant. This means that the Bt backcrossing introgression programme needs to be conducted with scrupulous attention to detail with sufficient enough backcross generations (maybe even up to BC6) to breed out the unwanted traits. If not, then these unwanted traits such as jassid and 3 Agi, A.L., Mahaffey, J.S., Bradley Jr., J.R. & Van Duyn, J.W. (2001) Journal of Cotton Science 5: 74-80 16
CLCV tolerance will segregate in the subsequent commercial crops and will be observed to varying degrees in growers’ fields, adding to the growers’ yield loss problems. This is already happening in commercial planting seed of unauthorized Bt with many growers observing more jassid and CLCV damage than they would normally expect in such a variety. The extent of the problem of lack of genetic purity in commercial crops is difficult to quantify but a survey of commercial cotton crops by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) in the 2007 season gives an idea of the degree of the problem. Sindh Punjab % of crop as Bt cotton 80% 50% Planting seed source Gins private % off types noted 10-20% 10-20% % fake Bt 10% 5% % mixed Bt or segregating 15% 4% The problem seems worse in the Sindh, maybe because it started first with Bt cotton or maybe because the seed was sourced from potentially contaminated seed from gins. Nevertheless, these figures paint an alarming picture which can only become worse over time if nothing is done to improve the Pakistani cottonseed industry. Why then is there no professional cottonseed industry in Pakistan, as there is in, say, India? Government policy over the years has pushed for a public breeding and seed supply system but this has clearly not delivered. There are no incentives for the private seed sector investment and no Intellectual Property (IP) protection for the development of new germplasm. The draft Plant Breeders Rights Act must be enacted as soon as possible and once in place, must be enforced. Patent protection laws are already in place for the protection of new technologies and traits but they must be regarded and enforced if necessary. These protections will benefit both local public and private and multinational seed sector and technology companies and will most definitely encourage the development of a professional seed industry in Pakistan. A viable private seed sector must be encouraged and supported in Pakistan. In addition to the IP protection measures mentioned above, the following actions are strongly recommended: 1) Pass the Seed Act 1976 amendment to include the private sector. 17
Page 1: Changing the Cotton Landscape in Pa
Page 5: Preface The importance of improving
Page 8 and 9: Acronyms AARI Ayub Agricultural Res
Page 10 and 11: Millions of Bales (170 kgs) Yield (
Page 12 and 13: Millions of bales (170 kgs) 35.0 30
Page 14 and 15: 4.1b/year in extra lint, oil and me
Page 16 and 17: CLCV susceptible variety in the Ind
Page 18 and 19: (Feb/March) of part of their cotton
Page 20 and 21: The following table presents data o
Page 22 and 23: 96.1%, respectively). High levels o
Page 26 and 27: 2) Ensure all private seed sector c
Page 28 and 29: Logistical problems It will be very
Page 30 and 31: the introduction of Roundup Ready F
Page 32 and 33: eview and will not be discussed fur
Page 34 and 35: Following is a list of insect toler
Page 36 and 37: The key factors affecting the devel
Page 38 and 39: • Disease tolerance, especially F
Page 40 and 41: whatever natural refuges are availa
Page 42 and 43: The models above clearly indicate t
Page 44 and 45: 7. Summary of Recommendations 1) En
Page 46 and 47: case, we need to carefully examine
Page 48 and 49: Stakeholders Engaged for this Study

ChangingCottonLandscapeNeilForrester

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